Flexible metallic fabric



July 3, 1956 A. CHISHOLM FLEXIBLE METALLIC FABRIC 6.7.2# da# J.

Filed Nov. 20, 1952 nd States Patent FLEXIBLE METALLIC FABRIC Alpin Chisholm, Ilainville, Mass.

Application November 20, 1952, Serial No. 321,629

3 Claims. (Cl. 24S-9) This invention pertains to jewelry and more especially to a ilexible fabric, usually of metal, useful, for instance, in the manufacture of handbags or the like or as a purely decorative material for use in millinery, etc. Heretofore it has been proposed to make a flexible metal fabric by uniting rigid metallic plates by means of rings or short chains. While such a fabric has the desired characteristics of flexibility and pleasing appearance, the cost of production is such as to limit its field of usefulness. The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel fabric, made from substantially rigid sheet mate rial, for example sheet metal, having the desired llexibility coupled with lightness of weight and which may be made at a cost substantially lower than that involved in the manufacture of such fabrics by prior methods. A furt'her object is to provide a flexible metallic fabric comprising plates of like size and contour and wherein portions of adjacent plates are so shaped and assembled as to provide a hinge joint connection between the adjacent plates. A further object is to provide a novel plate for use in the manufacture of a flexible fabric, the plate being so devised that the mere assembly of a substantial number of said plates, all identically alike, will produce the desired fabric without necessitating the inclusion of other parts such as rings, separate pintle pins, or the like. A further object is to provide a novel metallic fabric consisting of assembled plates liexibly united, the plates being of such contour that they may all be cut' from the selected sheet material by the use of a single die. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. l is a fragmentary plan View illustrative of one embodiment of the invention and showing the exterior surface of the fabric;

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but showing the opposite face of the fabric;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section substantially on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, but to larger scale, showing two adjacent constituent plates of the fabric and the joint uniting them;

Fig. 4 is a plan View, to larger scale, of a single one of the plates forming the fabric of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing a single plate, which may be the original blank from which the plate of Fig. 4 is formed, or which may form the completed plate for use in making a somewhat simpler fabric;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5, the thickness of the material being exaggerated;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section showing portions of adjacent plates of the form illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 and the hinge joint which unites them;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but illustrating a further slight modification;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a single plate of a further modied contour.

Fig. 10 is a composite view showing two complemental plates of modified construction designed to be arranged adjacent to each other in forming the fabric;

Fig. l1 is a plan view of a single plate of another polygonal shape; and

Fig. 12 is a similar View showing a circular plate.

Referring to Figs. l to 4, the numerals 1 and la, for example, designate two adjacent plates of the flexible fabric F. These plates are square in contour and adjacent plates are united by hinge joints at 2 and 3 respectively, the fabric thus formed being exible in all directions. The individual plates forming the fabric will usually be made of a sti, thin, sheet metal of a composition or character such as is customarily used in the manufacture of costume jewelry or the like, the sheet material, if desired, being plated with one of the precious metals either before or after the individual plates are cut from the sheet material. While sheet metal will usually be the material employed, it is contemplated that other sheet materials having the requisite characteristics may likewise be used.

The plates employed for making the fabric F of Figs. 1 and 2 are provided at adjacent edges d and 6a (Fig. 4), respectively, with integral, projecting elongate tongues 5 and 5a, respectively, each of these tongues being of substantially uniform width from end to end and of a length substantially less than the width of the plate proper, said tongues projecting from the midportions of the respective edges. Each plate is also provided with integral tabs 7 and 7a projecting from the midportions of its respective edges 8 and be. Each of these tabs is provided with an elongate slot 9 extending parallel from the edge of the plate from which the tab projects, each slot being of a length slightly exceeding the transverse width of one of the tongues 5 or Sa and being of a width, transversely of its length, slightly exceeding the thickness of the ma terial of the tongues 5i or 5, that portion of the material of the tab which is interposed between the outer edge of the slot and the outer edge of the tab proper being of a width approximating the thickness of material thereby providing a hinge pin.

As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, each of the plates 1, 1a, etc. is embossed or otherwise formed so that its outer surface, that is the surface which is exposed to view in the completed fabric, as it is used, is faceted, that is, has intersecting faces 4, the arrangement speciiically illustrated providing plates which are of shallow, pyramid form as viewed from the exposed surface. Ob.- viously, any other pattern of embossing may be used, or other customary form of ornamentation, for instance perforation.

In assembling adjacent plates to form the fabric F (Fig. 3) the tongue, for example the tongue 5b of the plate la, is passed through the slot 9 in the tab of the adjacent plate 1 and is then curled under as shown in Fig. 3 to form a substantially cylindrical hing-e knuckle which embraces the hinge pin It), which as above noted, deiines the outer edge of the slot 9. The operation of curling the tongue may readily be performed automatically by appropriate mechanism, the tongue being first introduced in the slot in the tab by hand, although it is contemplated that the entire operation of assembly, including the curling of the tongue may be done by automatic machinery.

The plates forming one transverse row in the fabric are thus flexibly and permanently hinged together and then the plates forming the next row may be assembled with the individual plates of the first row and then united to each other, or on the other hand, the plates may first be united to form single rows and then the plates of adjacent rows may be united.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 there is illustrated a modified form of plate, differing from that shown in Fig. 4 only in that the plate remains flat, that is to say it is not embossed after being cut from the sheet material. This plate 21 is square and has the elongate tongue 25 and 2S projecting from the midportions of its adjacent edges 26 and 26a while the tabs 27 and 2.7a project from the adjacent edges 2S and 23a, each of these tabs 27 and 27a having an elongate slot 29 parallel to the edge from which the tab projects, these slots being of proper dimensions to receive tongues of adjacent plates, the material 30 of the tab, extending along the outer edge of the slot, forming the hinge pintle as shown in Fig. 7, when the plates are assembled, the pin being embraced by the curled tongue J of the adjacent plate 21a.

As will be more clearly understood from Figs. 6 and 7, the slotted tabs of each plate, of whatever form the plate may be, are inclined downwardly and outwardly with respect to the main body of the plate so that when adjacent plates are joined, as shown in Fig. 7, the edges, at least, of adjacent plates, lie in the same horizontal plane, with the pintle member of the plate 2i, for example, below the adjacent plate 21e. With this arrangement the hinge elements are substantially concealed when the fabric is viewed from the upper or exposed side (Fig. 1) and the joint between adjacent plates is quite inconspicuous.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig. 8 wherein the plate 40, which is also square, is provided with tongues and 45L which, in this instance, project from the opposite edges of the plate, while the slotted tabs 47 and 47a project from the mid-portions of the other opposite edges of the plate.

Another modification is illustrated in Fig. 9 wherein the plate is hexagonal in contour and has elongate tongues projecting integrally from the midportions of each of three successive edges while the slotted tabs 67 project from the midportions of the remaining edges. Obviously plates of other contours may be employed, for example a plate of octagonal shape. As illustrated in Fig. l1 such a plate 70 may have alternate edges of different lengths with the tabs '77 and tongues 75 extending from and being coextensive with the short edges of the plate. Likewise circular plates 80, as illustrated in Fig. 12, may be used, these circular plates having slotted tabs at the ends of two diameters, apart, and tongues 85 at the opposite ends of said diameters.

In Fig. l0 a further modification is suggested wherein the plate 50, which is one of a pair of adjacent plates in the completed fabric, is provided at each of its edges, with an integral slotted tab 57, while the adjacent plate 50ab is provided at each of its edges with an integral tongue 55'. While this arrangement provides for the same ilexibility and other advantages of the device as previously described, the manufacture of a fabric by the use of such plates, requires the use of two dilierent dies.

While certain desirable embodiments ot the invention have herein been described and illustrated, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A exible jewelry fabric for use in the manufacture of mesh bags, said fabric comprising hinged-together plates of thin sheet material, the plates being alike and each plate proper being of symmetrical shape but having at least two integral tabs and at least two integral tongues projecting from its edge, each tab inclining outwardly and downwardly with reference to the plane of the plate proper and having an elongate slot whose inner edge substantially coincides with that edge of the plate proper from which the tab projects, the slot being of a width slightly exceeding the thickness of the sheet material, that portion of the material of the tab which defines the outer edge of the` slot being of a width approximating the thickness of the material thereby to constitute a hinge pin, each tongue being of substantially uniform width from end to end and of a length substantially less than the width of the plate proper, the width of the tongue being slightly less than the length of the slot in the tab, each tongue passing down through the slot in a tab of an adjacent plate and being curled at the underside of the plate to embrace the hinge-pin element of said tab and 'to form a substantially cylindrical hinge knuckle in which the hinge pin clement may turn the diameter of the hinge knuckle being such as to prevent substantial motion of the hinge pin in a direction parallel to the plane of the plate, the hinge connections, comprised of the hinge pins and knuckles constituting the sole means for uniting adjacent plates.

2. A ilexible jewelry fabric according to claim 1, wherein each plate is of regular polygonal contour with a tab projecting from the mid-portion of each successive edge of the plate throughout a halt of its perimeter' and with a tongue projecting from the mid-portion of each of its other edges.

3. A exible jewelry fabric according to claim 1, wherein each plate is circular in shape and has integral tongues projecting from its edge at the ends of two diameters 90 apart and having the tabs projecting from its edge at the opposite ends of said diameters.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 320,832 Alexander June 23, 1885 911,585 Fox Feb. 9, 1909 1,231,345 Fuhrmann lune 26, 1917 1,728,867 Nicoletti Sept. 17, 1929 2,372,520 Rubin Mar. 27, 1945 2,381,860 Baggott Aug. 14, 1945 2,454,307 Cooley Nov, 23, 1948 2,460,654 Reinstein Feb. l, 1949 

1. A FLEXIBLE JEWELRY FABRIC FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MESH BAGS, SAID FABRIC COMPRISING HINGED-TOGETHER PLATES OF THIN SHEET MATERIAL, THE PLATES BEING ALIKE AND EACH PLATE PROPER BEING OF SYMMETRICAL SHAPE BUT HAVING AT LEAST TWO INTEGRAL TABS AND AT LEAST TWO INTEGRAL TONGUES PROJECTING FROM ITS EDGE, EACH TAB INCLINING OUTWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY WITH REFERENCE TO THE PLANE OF THE PLATE PROPER AND HAVING AN ELONGATE SLOT WHOSE INNER EDGE SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDES WITH THAT EDGE OF THE PLATE PROPER FROM WHICH THE TAB PROJECTS, THE SLOT BEING OF A WIDTH SLIGHTLY EXCEEDING THE THICKNESS OF THE SHEET MATERIAL, THAT PORTION OF THE MATERIAL OF THE TAB WHICH DEFINES THE OUTER EDGE OF THE SLOT BEING OF A WIDTH APPROXIMATING THE THICKNESS OF THE MATERIAL THEREBY TO CONSTITUTE A HINGE PIN, EACH TONGUE BEING OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM WIDTH FROM END TO END AND OF A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE PLATE PROPER, THE WIDTH OF THE TONGUE BEING SLIGHTLY LESS THEN THE LENGTH OF THE SLOT IN THE TAB, EACH TONGUE PASSING DOWN THROUGH THE SLOT IN A TAB OF AN ADJACENT PLATE AND BEING CURLED AT THE UNDERSIDE OF THE PLATE TO EMBRACE THE HINGE-PIN ELEMENT OF SAID TAB AND TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL HINGE KNUCKLE IN WHICH THE HINGE PIN ELEMENT MAY TURN THE DIAMETER OF THE HINGE KNUCKLE BEING SUCH AS TO PREVENT SUBSTANTIAL MOTION OF THE HINGE PIN IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF THE PLATE, THE HINGE CONNECTIONS, COMPRISED OF THE HINGE PINS AND KNUCKLES CONSTITUTING THE SOLE MEANS FOR UNITING ADJACENT PLATES. 